Happiness, is that the purpose of life?

It’s a sad fact that we can’t be happy all the time. We can try to achieve a happy medium and feel contented. We tend to view things as relative, there are tall people, because they are taller than shorter people. If we were all the same height, short or tall, we wouldn’t know if we were short or tall!

We can be happy only if we have known sadness or depression. We are not only individuals, we are part of collectives such as families, communities and even the whole nation. We can be unhappy as a collective and I see whole countries going through period of stress and depression. Some countries are stressed because they struggle to find clean water and food and so struggle to survive. Other rich countries seem to be depressed, because they have lost their way. They have forgotten the whole point of their existence and that is to not just to survive, but to find some happiness.

Children seem to find some happiness in simple things. They find happiness in each others company. They find happiness in simple things like a day out in the park. They are happy if the other kids are nice to them, unhappy if they are bullied. As they go through childhood they lose that ability to be happy and begin to compete for the things they want. Teenagers often feel they are no longer accepted because they don’t have the latest fashion or their own car. They can feel rejected because because of acne or crooked teeth, there is social pressure to fit in and be like everyone else.

Globalisation has meant we can now travel the world and make friends through the power of the internet without travelling at all. The world is a smaller place thanks to jet aircraft and global communications. We have entered a technological age when many new things are possible, but are we happier?

We get stressed by the modern age as we sit frustrated in traffic jams. We see crisis after crisis as global forces fight for supremacy. Politicians don’t talk about happiness or even contentment; they talk about money and war. Their priorities since the Lehman Brothers crash seem to be even focused on money and to hell with the environment and future generations. We know that depressed people can get obsessed with things. It does seem that the politicians across the world are obsessed with money and ‘growth’. The ones in the UK seem obsessed with a need to control and enslave people. We don’t see them laughing because they are happy, we see them laughing at people less fortunate, perhaps because it makes them feel superior. Is that a sign of feelings of inadequacy and inferiority?

There are many things we can enjoy, regardless of how ‘rich’ we are. We can enjoy a sunny day, we can enjoy nature, we can enjoy birdsong, we can enjoy music and we can be happy with ourselves.

Is the point of life just to survive or is it to search for happiness?

That’s all for today. It will be my photography post tomorrow with tips and ideas on improving your photography. Thanks for reading and you can subscribe using the widget in the sidebar or follow me on Twitter.